Ravenous

[SarahScent44]

An utterly feral, thoroughly rousing perfume. Red patchouli sweetened by orange blossom.

As a BPAL newbie, I'm drawn to scents with few notes - I feel like they'll be easier for me to pick out and learn from. Combine that with the fact that I have good feelings about patchouli and orange, so I was excited for Ravenous. But it didn't work out - it was plastic-y and chemical. Boo-urns.

Edited to include scent description Edited November 16, 2007 by SarahScent

[V294]

In the bottle: ooo this is interesting, is that orange why yes it is

 

Wet: citrusy and nice

 

Dry: Uh oh it's gone a bit powdery on me, great orange powder, that's wierd.

 

Might try it again later to see if my chemistry likes it better...mostly just orange to me though, I like it but we'll see.

[ImperatrixMundi]

Where is the patchouli???

 

What the hell?? This smells almost exactly like Zephyr on me. Creamy citrus and vanilla, a bit less musky and more plastic-y.

 

If I want that type of smell Zephyr is much nicer, I wanted this to be something totally different.

[sithwitch13]

I never would have chosen Ravenous on my own since patchouli and orange have smelled more or less like ass on me previously. But I got it as a frimp and got curious.

 

Oh, am I glad I got curious. Fresh on it's like sharp, spicy, bitey orange. It stays strong for hours, and it's never unpleasant but it stays noticeable. It's bold. Eventually it mellows into an earthy, creamy scent. It's still recognizably orange but it's like sexy creamsicles. (Wow, "sexy creamsicles." There's something I never thought I'd say.) It's not "me" enough to justify buying a bottle but it's lovely.

[topaz]

I just got this one as gift with my order from pinkusmolestus on eBay.

 

First sniff: Um, yeah. That's orange. Almost like the oranges with cloves stuck in the skin to preserve them.

 

Initial application: Orange-sicle. Fresh from the ice cream truck.

 

Dry down: This went from orange to baby powder on me.

 

Pretty scent but I wish the orange had lasted longer.

[ranyart]

This was a frimp from the lab, and I was a bit nervous by how sweet it smelled in the imp that I didn't get around to testing it until tonight.

 

Wet, it's a strong, creamy orange scent with no trace of patchouli at all. As it dries, though, the extreme sweetness backs off just a tiny bit and there's a depth and darkness that ground the scent a little. My guess is that this is the patchouli valiantly trying to break through, but I'm never able to really smell it. About two hours later, this is still just a very strong floral-y orange.

 

I'm wondering if maybe orange blossom just isn't a note that will work well on me, and since I don't get any patchouli to speak of from this blend, it's just a very strong orange blossom that smells much too sweet and cloying on me. I had a similar problem with Hunger, so I'm pretty sure it's the orange blossom that's causing a problem. I think this would smell great on the right person, but sadly that's not me.

[megank4]

This doesn't smell at all to me like patchouli and orange blossom. More like raisins and resin to me. This doesn't change much on my skin, pretty much just stays the same.

A nice blend, definitely giving a "Ravenous" feeling, but one that I don't think I need to hold on to.

[naeelah]

This one is an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. I tried it on because it was red, hoping maybe it would be a red musky blend.

 

Wet, it's a little sharp and prickly, almost like red musk, with a bright patchouli quality (not as deep and earthy as regular patchouli).

 

Dry, it has a real creaminess. From a distance I first wondered if it was coconut, or vanilla, but I couldn't put my finger on it. So I'm very surprised to learn that this has, ostensibly, only two components: red patchouli and orange blossom. The resulting fragrance is much more complex.

 

Normally, patchouli is an evil note of death for me. I amp it like crazy, so anything containing patchouli just smells like dirt on my skin. Red patchouli, on the other hand, behaves much more nicely. It's almost like a cross between sandalwood and patchouli -- a little bit lighter and woody, a little bit sharp, and a little bit earthy. Normally I hate patchouli, but this is really pretty nice.

 

The orange blossom lends, well, a creamsicle-like quality. A tiny bit fruity, but it doesn't really grab me as orange, just sweet. It's sweet and amazingly creamy. (Is orange blossom always this creamy? It seems like there has to be vanilla in this.)

 

The patchouli and orange blossom are in about equal balance.

 

On my skin, this actually smells surprisingly like Snake Charmer. Huh. This will require additional experimentation. Throw is excellent. I only put on a little, but it's really carrying. Wear life seems to be good.

[lainevierge]

This almost smells like a vanilla-blackcurrant tart or something, that is until it turns to PLASTIC.

 

I really don't get it. Patchouli is usually so great on me. It grounds notes that I'd never be able to wear (like in Depraved). I think I'll be staying away from the red stuff from now on though.

[dragonlady]

Wow, I am seriously loving this. First time I wore it I was a bit iffy, since it smelled exactly like an orange life saver on me. Not a bad smell, but I wasn't really sure if that's what I wanted to smell like. I've since decided that I do.

 

In the bottle it smells mostly like the red patchouli, which I find much nicer than the plain patchouli. This is much less gritty, and the orange gives it a bit of sweetness that lightens the perfume a good bit. On my skin the patchouli wanders off, and the orange comes out nice and creamy, which is where the lifesaver similarity came to me. But this is so much better! And I don't mind smelling edible

 

I'm not a very good judge of throw since I only wear it behind my ears, but I think it's pretty strong, I've been able to smell it clearly all day.

 

As to wear length, this thing is amazing. I put one swipe behind each ear, so I'm not exactly bathing in it, but it won't go away! I put it on this morning on my way to school, around 10. It is now 1 am, and I can still smell it clearly. So if you can't reapply for 15+ hours, this is the scent for you.

 

ETA: 10 am the next morning: there's a hint of patchouli still left. Now that's impressive.

Edited February 1, 2008 by dragonlady

[waternight]

Unsurprisingly, this went STRONGLY plastic-candy sweet and horrible on me. I love patchouli, but orange blossom is a note of DOOM on me.

 

Ow.

[djsiberia]

i can totally smell the orange upon first application. however, it smells like a rotten orange rind and then the patchouli and then oh dear band-aids. actually the over-all scent reminds me of those orange push-up pops or orange medicine from when i was a kid and band-aids

 

i am curious if this ages, if it smells better and the patchouli pops out more and drowns out the orange. then again, it could go wrong since citrius doens't age well.

 

not a bottle purchase.

[vegasblueblood]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab and it is a really nice surprise! It has that gorgeous earthiness of patchouli on initial application with just a hint of a creamy orange but after about 10 minutes the creamy orange really comes out and takes control though not in an overpowering way. The patchouli and orange blossom mingle together in a perfectly choreographed dance and become a sexy spicy citrus blend.

[Dracoo9]

Form: imp from the lab

 

In the imp: Mostly orange with patchouli.

 

Ravenous is the only scent that has had patchouli in it and didnt go out of control dirt smelling on me. At first I did get a dirt smell the most from it but then it mellowed down and I could smell the orange a lot more. It almost becomes a slightly vanilla-ey scent on me. I think I'll hang on to it and see if I'm tempted to get a bottle later.

 

Edit: Eep! This has become Dragon's Milk on me. Very strange....But I like it

Edited April 13, 2008 by Dracoo9

[sadtomato]

this wasn't sweet or orangey on me like a lot of people have said it was on them.

i got a bit of a whiff of orange from the bottle, but once i put it on my skin it was almost pure spicey red patchouli, which was lovely and mellowed down to something dark, smooth and slinky.

the tiniest touch of sweetness came through later, but not an overwhelming sweetness at all or a foody sweetness...just a nice little sweet note to balance out the darkness of the patchouli.

i'd call this a smooth, sexy red scent...but not a hot red scent...a red so dark it borders on black kind of red scent.

this one's a keeper for me.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Orange. With a hint of dark incense. Not really orange blossom, though.

 

Wet: Same, maybe a wee bit more floral. Otherwise I feel like I've been harvesting overripe oranges from old, woody trees.

 

Dry: This has become increasingly sweet; cloying. It really is just orange and patchouli, with very very faint hints of orange blossom and maybe other delicate florals.

 

Summary: The patchouli has taken over; it's lovely but too much of a good thing can be bad. The sweet orange remains strong, and the floral note woefully light. Strong throw, moderate lasting power.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

Hmmm, I get orangey red hots from this one. Not terrible, but not really my style. My nose is definitely calling something cinnamon, and of course that is the red patchouli. Interesting...

[starwild]

There's something very intriguing about this scent. It's strong and sweet orange with a smack of patchouli, and dries down into mostly patchouli. Every time I smell it, I like it more. Uncomplicated but magical all the same. I could see myself wearing this a lot. I might actually get a bottle at some point in the future. It's very sexy but not overpowering.

[SueDonym]

Raving thanks to Cranberry and the Civet Evangelism Circle:

 

In the imp this is glorious. My first thought was YUM!

Orange blossom smells very juicy to me and deliriously pleasant with just a tiny tiny hint of patchouli.

 

Alas, on my skin the orange blossom is sucked away immediately and the civet (I imagine) begins doing it's fresh almost cedary thing briefly, and then the whole thing goes faint. Woe is me.

 

It's a pleasant faint -- sweet, slight patchouli, hintingly orangish, but my nose would have to be right up against my arm and I don't walk good that way. (I've tried. I've failed.)

[savage_rose]

This is an amazing spiced orange scent...it reminds me a bit of pomander balls, but a gingery-patchouli scent instead of clove. It fades amazingly quickly, but while it lasts it's gorgeous.

[miri]

After smelling Dragon's Milk, but before smelling any other dragon's blood-containing scents, this is what I thought dragon's blood would smell like, but with patchouli

 

Given that my original thought on smelling Dragon's Milk was that DB is amazing, and that one of my favourite Lush scents is Karma, which uses the same sort of patchouli, I doubt it will come as much surprise to hear that I really like this

 

It's a very red scent - sweet and sticky and lovely!

[lemonade]

I received an imp today of this.. alas there are just some BPAL I cant get by the sniffing stage... unfortunately this is one of them, I already could feel a headache coming on when i sniffed it wet from the imp.. sadly this is off to swaps

[Andrea912]

I'm so not into this; the patchouli is spicy and overpowers the orange.

[GingerGunlock]

Ravenous is an aggressive, sexy smell on me. In the imp, I get both the patchouli and the orange, and wet, it's actually the orange that's stronger. In the drydown, the orange and patchouli mix together in a harmonious way that's got plenty of throw. The orange isn't a juicy, sections of orange to be eaten sort of scent, but more how your hands smell after you've peeled one, and how the peel smells after it's dried out a bit.

[oddment]

On my skin this smells spicy and resinous--I get a scent that strikes me as being cinnamon and clove, overlaid by sweet orange. It's almost a dirty scent at first, but dries into something more pleasant. It smells slightly like baking/kitchens and slightly sexy, but I'm not sure it is something I would wear regularly--it's a little heavier and more aggressive than I like.